100 Days of Mocks: Edge, Linebacker, Tight End in PFF Three-Rounder
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ on-paper starting defense features seven first-round picks.
With Joe Barry playing the role of Dick Van Patten, maybe Eight is Enough.
In a new three-round mock draft at Pro Football Focus published exactly six weeks before the 2023 NFL Draft, the Packers led off with Iowa pass rusher Lukas Van Ness. He’d provide critical depth behind the veteran starting tandem of Preston Smith and Rashan Gary – especially with Gary coming off a torn ACL.
“The Packers can go a handful of directions here, but if Van Ness is still around, I think he will be high on their board,” Trevor Sikkema wrote. “He has experience playing on the interior and the speed to play on the edge. Given the lack of starting experience, he's a bit green, but he has shown flashes of impact ability.”
Despite not starting a game in his two seasons at Iowa, he finished with career numbers of 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for losses.
With size and explosiveness, he fits the Packers’ mold.
With the Day 2 picks, Sikkema went with Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders in the second round and Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta in the third round.
The Sanders pick doesn’t make much sense. The Packers already have De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker to man those positions. They are every-down players – so long as Walker keeps his temper in check.
Not that Sanders isn’t good. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was a first-team All-American and one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top linebacker. He had 9.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for losses among his 103 tackles.
Perhaps with that stat line, you’re thinking about Dallas’ defensive dynamo, Micah Parsons, who also is an off-the-ball linebacker with big-time pass rushing skills.
“Sanders’ 11 sacks and 39 pressures from a season ago are why he’ll be coveted in the league,” reads a snippet of PFF’s scouting report. “Everyone wants the next Micah Parsons, and while he’s not that, Sanders can bring juice to a third-down package.”
LaPorta measured 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds at the Scouting Combine, where he ran his 40 in 4.59 seconds. He caught 53 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns as a junior and 58 passes for 657 yards and one touchdown as a senior.
Green Bay’s third-round history is dreary, overall, and especially at tight end with Richard Rodgers, Jace Sternberger and Josiah Deguara over the last decade.
At USA Today’s Touchdown Wire, the Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets for the No. 13 pick. With that selection, Green Bay landed Ohio State slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With their own choice at No. 15, Green Bay grabbed Clemson edge defender Myles Murphy.
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100 Days of Mocks
Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here are the last 10 days of the series.
43 days: Van Ness at No. 13 and No. 15 in new mocks
44 days: Four-rounder starts with pass rusher
45 days: Sorry, free agency
46 days: A first-round quarterback?
47 days: A fistful of tight ends
48 days: Rodgers traded; Packers take pass rusher, tight end
49 days: First-round playmakers and a seven-round mock
